Undercurrents: Shextreme Best Adventure Film

The art of filmmaking involves creating a visual and auditory experience that connects and engages with the audience, transporting them to another world. Through the narrative, films can be entertaining as equally as they can be educational. This year's Shextreme Best Adventure Film award goes to "Undercurrents", directed and edited by Christina Baldwin and Bronwyn Harvey.

Making its world premiere at the Shextreme Film Festival this year, "Undercurrents" spoke to the audience about the powerful connection we have with open water. Christina and Bronwyn developed the idea back in 2013 when they both lived in the landlocked lines of London.

"Christina was frustrated by how few inspiring female films there were at the time and wanted to create something that would be a positive representation of the female surfing experience. Bronwyn constantly wondered about the connection between one's state of mind and the resulting surfing experience. But we both started with the question why do we do this crazy sport? It is often incredibly cold, relentlessly challenging and, at times, with little reward. We both realised what we get from surfing are these moments where time stands still, and we feel connected to ourselves and all around us. That feeling, that sense of connection is what draws us back again and again. We then set about finding out if other women experienced this too."

Since the idea was born, "Undercurrents" took 6-years to reach its finished state amongst other projects both women had on the go.

Over those years, the creative duo faced challenges such as budget limitations, time available, and having multiple themes running throughout the film, which require seamless harmonising. Further editing obstacles tested the progress of the film, "We knew where we had to be at the end, but a lot of the film's body came together organically. This made shoots tricky as we had an idea of the feel of footage or interview sound bytes that we needed (dreamy, "mind-y", shots that portrayed say connectedness or fear) but we didn't have a concrete plan to follow. It meant there was a lot of footage to sift through to try and build meaningful sequences out of symbolic material."

"Undercurrents" delivers an important message; "Following your passion in life and doing what you love is not always easy, but in doing so you can find your place in the world. You can find a sense of purpose, feel connected to yourselves, as well as the people and places around you."

"Our film has been a real collaborative process and experiencing this has been a real joy in building a trusting and mutually supportive film partnership. For any aspiring filmmakers, find ways to collaborate with others and choose people that you can relate to and who will bring the best out in you and your team.

Also, to do something, often on a limited budget, is hard. However, it can bring out the best in people, and your creativity is an amazing tool in problem-solving whatever obstacles you may face."